new td4 owner

Hi there Guys,

New to the forum. I am in the process of buying a Freelander TD4 2003 model with 17k miles. I am buying this from Stratstone in Mayfair. Since my experience with our last vehicle, being at VW, I am very concerned when buying a new car. You would think not, being from a main dealer, but my last experience with VW would probably shock quite a few people.

Is there anything I should look out for, mechanically or cosmetic. My family previously owned a 2000 Freelander 1.8 petrol, and there were no issues with that.

Look forward to your replies.

Thank you in advance.

Regards
Nick

td4 2004 said:

Hi there Guys,

I am very concerned when buying a new car. You would think not, being from a main dealer, but my last experience with VW would probably shock quite a few people.

Is there anything I should look out for, mechanically or cosmetic. My family previously owned a 2000 Freelander 1.8 petrol, and there were no issues with that.

Look forward to your replies.

Thank you in advance.

Regards
Nick

Click to expand...

whatever probs you had with the VW they will pale into insignificance compared to all the potential problems with a freelander.

have a look at some of the threads in this section to see some of the common problems

or see this thread for a few tips on why NOT to buy one

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/answer-all-freelander-questions-34625.html

So are they very un reliable then?

td4's are the better ones. get the best warranty you can.

i've had three with not many problems.

is it a 3 door or a 5 door you gettin??

td4 2004 said:

So are they very un reliable then?

Click to expand...

not tryin to put you off

the TD4 is prob the best of the lot - presume at 17K from stratstones you'll be getting a warranty ?

i can only comment on my particular td4, 71k miles, drives like a dream with a roverron tuning box fitted , 37 mpg,i do my own servicing, only problems i have had in 3 years -rear diff mounting bush replaced,turbo rubber hose replaced, injector problem which cleared with a dose of cleaner,
its 6 years old, still looks mint ,no rust anywhere,i cant think of a reason to change it , i may have been lucky and got a good one
john t

Bought my TD4 auto 02 plate on ebay !!

With only a 3 minute walk around the car before bidding - How brave is that

There are some dramtic stories on here of what can happen and its true there are several issues

Other than a fault on my newly fitted autobox (fixed for £600)
a starter motor fault - fixed for £30

CD player and servicing items

I came out the other side with just a few bruises

After a week in a new Focus its nice to get into for a weekend but the horror stories on here sometime sit at the back of your head and your waiting for something to go wrong

Dont expect Land Rover are reliable, But i have worked with VW, Citroen and Toyota before Ford, Trust me the more you know about a franchise the less you would buy

As said TD4 is the pick of the bunch only due to headgasket stories on petrol

One thing for certain, if you have a problem you will find someone else that has fixed it on here

Hi there,

The one I am buying is a Freelander TD4 Auto Sport. Registered in November 2003. The vehicle has done 17 k miles. It's a five door.

Just concerned, as the service issues and reliability/defects on our brand new Polo was hard to believe. I had 2 cars off VW, as they agreed to exchange the first one. With only 3k miles, had new gearbox, wheel beerings, adjustments to suspension, new tappets. The second car, new wishbones, consol bushes, 4 window regulators, plus attitude and sarcasm from staff at VW.

Is the TD4 reliable?, as we only do 10k miles a year. I was told the engine was the BMW 320d and that was award winning. The gearbox is also good I have heard.

I have a years warranty from Stratstone and will make sure that prior to that ending, I will make sure that all works will be done.

I test drove the TD4 Sport last week, and it was nice to drive. Steering was a little heavy and pulled to the right. I told the salesmen and they will look into this. It has the 18 inc alloys, but I demanded for tracking to be checked and wheel pressures.

What sort of things would I expect to look out for or more likley to experience? Is the engine reliable and the turbo? Is there anything to be done prior to after driving? Only asking, as I used to have a Porsche 944 Turbo, and I had to let it idle after a run for at least a minute or so.

Any issues with the suspension, or diffs?

Thanks for your advise on this.


Regards

Nick

Hi there,

Hope guys are well, please could you assist on my previous spread?

Regards

Nick

Hi td4,
as said on this thread the td4 are the best of the crop and any probs are usually well documented here. I've got a 2005 td4 and the main problems have been niggling ones, faulty seatbelt, broken clutch pedal part, water spitting from air con, etc. That being said, they shouldn't happen and accepting them as part of British industry standard is a bit sad.... but the car is still great to drive and fun to have....

Here you go found this site today it's packed with data & info about gaylanders but it also has a show and tell forum of gaylander owners problems and treatment by LR and solutions to the problems. If you own or are thinking of buying a Gaylander you really should have a look.

Why bother

the td4 are a good motor wiff 17k on clock ,would not expect pull to the right as you said. . . .steering is normally very good on this motor , service history is the key point , un have a good listen for transmission whines un clunks , if auto box , hammer it to see if any abnormal delay in gear change [and try sports mode] manual ,and hill decent feature. . . .un best oh luck earthling

burtonboy said:

whatever probs you had with the VW they will pale into insignificance compared to all the potential problems with a freelander.

Click to expand...

If you are going to be completely unobjective, what's the point in posting?

There are two main, well known problems with the Freelander.

The first was with the petrol head gasket failure, which also affected the other vehicles with the K-series engine in, including Rover saloons, MG F and Lotus Elise. But as this poster is talking about a TD4, then it doesn't apply.

The second significant problem was with early transmissions. But this vehicle is a later model and therefore it doesn't really apply, though advise on what to look for would no doubt be helpful.

The BMW TD4 is an excellent unit, with a solid reputation. Reportedly there is a known problem with the Mass Air Flow, but it is relatively uncommon, easy to diagnose and simple to fix.

A late model, low mileage TD4 is an excellent choice.

Cheers

Blippie

Thanks for that. That gives me a bit confidence.

I am due to collect the vehicle tomorrow. The is a small issue. I am buying this from Stratstone in Mayfair. The car originally was a car at Stratstone Milton Keynes. They are waiting fot the previous driver to send the service history book. The guy in Mayfair has been excellent, but little cautious with the history. I do not fancy a replacement book.

They have re assured me, that if the car is due a service in the next four months, then they will collect it and service it. My view, I do not really want to collect until they have found or have the history. I just find it a little unusual. I had the same issue with Mercedes, where they have me a replacement book, and when I checked the stamps with the neccessary dealers, they were contradicting.

What are your views and what do you suggest I do or say?

Regards
Nick

Well said Blippie, a good honest and simple response.

Pitty others dont understand the meaning of a simple and constructive post.

To answer the original question, get your concerns with this particular car sorted before committing to the purchase, me personally i would always avoid the 1.8 petrol but as already posted a later model TD4 should give you no major worries.

Enjoy the car.

Thanks for your reply. The wheels it has on, is the Sport wheels? Is this ok?

Any views on the service history point I made. I know it is a main dealer, but still dont trust them!

Regards
Nick

Perhaps negotiate for a service before you pick it up?

Cheers

Blippie

for piece of mind,, with 17k on the clock , make sure its serviced before you buy it , you shouldnt have any probs as its not even run in yet, td4 is a great engine ,,

Thank for the advise. I have pushed today for the service history, and they have said, the used car manager at the other branch at Milton Keynes, will have it in a day or so. The only issue, they will not service it until they know if its serviced in the last year. So they have suggested for me to collect the car tomorrow,and when the history is in, if it needs a service, they will collect it at a later day, service it ,and then drop it back. Surely this does not sound good!

I have had nightmares with the previous two vehicles, I cannot afford another headache. So I am in two minds.

Cheers
Nick

td4 2004 said:

Thank for the advise. I have pushed today for the service history, and they have said, the used car manager at the other branch at Milton Keynes, will have it in a day or so. The only issue, they will not service it until they know if its serviced in the last year. So they have suggested for me to collect the car tomorrow,and when the history is in, if it needs a service, they will collect it at a later day, service it ,and then drop it back. Surely this does not sound good!

I have had nightmares with the previous two vehicles, I cannot afford another headache. So I am in two minds.

Cheers
Nick

Click to expand...

it may be completely OK, stratstones do move vehicles about in the group - but if the vehicle is theirs to sell they should have the service book - if they've still got to get it off the previous owner what's to say he's still got it ?

once you've collected & paid for it they can keep fobbing you off (" we'll have it for you next week " etc.) Don't accept it until you have the service history & date last serviced. - when I was looking around for my disco I saw one advertised as "77K miles - full main dealer service history - last serviced 5K ago" when I got there it had the 72K service done in Nov 2005 & nothing since - had only done 5K in almost 2 years & the service book was a replacement with the Reg no written on the outside - could have belonged to any vehicle! - they had no receipts for any of the work/services that the book said had been done - all looked a bit dodgy so I walked away.

if neccessary wait a couple more days till they get the book.